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the toxic truth
chapter 9 The Main VII. The Probo Koala discharged approximately half of its waste load into this boat during its stop in Amsterdam in July 2006. The waste was later pumped back on to the Probo Koala, and exported from the Netherlands in violation of international law. © Greenpeace/Bas Beentjes
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They knew that the waste which the Probo Koala had discharged to an APS barge had generated concern because of the smell. They knew that the alarm on a measuring device used by a police official taking a sample of the waste from the Probo Koala on 4 July had gone off, indicating that the set safety values had been exceeded.504 They knew that people had experienced and complained of health impacts: specifically, nausea, headaches and dizziness. They knew that tests performed by APS had found the COD, a measure of the level of contamination, to be significantly higher than the MARPOL waste usually processed by APS. The APS assumption, based on
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the description of the waste, was a COD of less than 2,000mg/l; APS’s test revealed that the Probo Koala’s waste had a COD of approximately 500,000mg/l. They also knew that APS, an appointed port reception facility with substantial experience in disposing of ships’ waste, and capable of processing MARPOL Annex I–IV slops, had said that it could not handle the Probo Koala’s waste and would need to send it to a specialist facility in Rotterdam. They were aware that the new quote for disposal of the waste was significantly higher than the original, and was based on the level of contamination505 and the need for more specialized treatment.